His past (2) – Alexis POV (2) & Darius POV (2)

The wiseman told Alexis: "You will be a great man in the future, but before that you will need to suffer unimaginable suffering". "Only your destined half will bring you inner peace and quiet, a safe haven from the storm." Alexis stood there and listened to this wise man tales and didn't doubt what the man said for a second. Alexis asked quickly and kind of rushed "how could I meet my destined other half?" The man again responded in an aged voice. "Not yet, only when your good and ready." Alexis still being young and not yet having the bearing of a commander asked: "What should I do to prepare?" Then Alexis heard the wiseman respond "the only thing you can do is grow stronger, only when your strong enough to combat the changes in the world, when you can be a bringer of light. When you are strong enough to shoulder what's in front of you and support you destined one. Only then the destined one will appear". "Sir!?" Alexis said wanting to ask more, but he quickly heard the wise old man say: "that's all I can say for now, work hard to become strong and find your own way in this dangerous world".

With that Alexis saw the old man turn around. The old man clasped his arms behind his back and slowly walk away from the stall they were standing in front of. Alexis wanted to run after him, but Darius quickly grabbed a hold of him. "Don't be greedy son" Darius said: "the man must have said everything he could have said".

Alexis struggled for a while still wanting to run after the wiseman who was quickly disappearing into the crowd. Disappearing from his sight like he was never there. Before Alexis could come back to his senses an old woman walked to the stall and took her seat. Alexis heard her ask "are you here to read your fortune?" Alexis being brought back to reality looked at the old woman and asked, "where is the old man from just now?" "Which old man?" the woman responded: "this is my stall I just had to go to the bathroom really quick." "If you're not going to ask me to tell your fortune, quickly move away, you're holding up my business.".

Darius took Alexis shoulders and quickly steered him away from the stall. Darius steered Alexis towards and bench and sat down with Alexis. Darius figured it was a lot to take in and Alexis just need a quiet space to gather his thoughts. A few minutes after Alexis had sat down, Alexis took a deep breath, he now knew a difficult future was coming and nothing would ever be the same again. Alexis could almost imagine his future being an uphill battle. Now all that was left to do was prepare.

When Alexis and Darius came home from the fare Darius sat Alexis down and asked him: "What do you want to do?" Darius knew that the only one who could decide what to do based on a fortuitous encounter was the one being granted this encounter. Others could guide them through their fortuitous encounter, but the person having this encounter would be the deciding factor. Darius wouldn't think Alexis was a child and make the decision for him. Darius would listen to Alexis's opinions and try to guide or assist him, he wouldn't interfere, because doing so could be detrimental.

Besides that, while Alexis was young, he was mature for his age, stubborn and had his own idea's. He was a strong child, and he shouldn't be underestimated. Darius saw Alexis take a deep breath and said, "Dad I want to take martial arts and then enlist in the army". Darius was surprised, but simply asked: "could you tell me why son?"

"Sure dad, the wiseman implied the future would be fraught with danger. I am simply not strong enough to fight the danger which is coming my way. I am already a straight A student, but being smart might help in dangerous situations, but if your response time is to slow, it won't mean anything. You would still be dead. Therefore, I would want to enlist in the army to learn real survival skills as soon as possible. This way I would be ready no matter what is thrown my way in the future. However, I am too young now and I cannot enlist in the army. This, however, doesn't mean I cannot do anything to prepare for the upcoming battle. I want to learn martial arts and survival skills in the wild" Alexis said. "Okay son" Darius said, "I will support you in whatever you decide". "I wonder who is my destined one" Alexis wondered out loud. Quickly followed by the silent thought: "No worry, when the world gets too dangerous, I am sure I will find you. Besides that, I will also make sure that I am strong enough to protect you when that time comes."

Alexis determined his future and the way he would forge onwards. Darius would be there simply to support him in his endeavors. The day after they had the meeting with the old wiseman, Darius took Alexis to sign up for martial arts. Alexis started with kickboxing. When he got good at kickboxing, he was interested in learning grappling skills. After all a fight couldn't always take place standing up straight. Therefore, Alexis signed up for MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Alexis also begged Darius to ask his buddy in the army to teach him survival skills in the wild. So quickly Alexis spent his holidays in a deep forest or mountain or a raging dessert. Soon however it was no longer an arduous task to prepare for the future. It became a fun adventure Alexis just wanted to get better at. When he got his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he started Judo and capoeira. This went on and on, adding more martial arts to his repertoire as time passed.

Although his preparation for the future quickly became part of his life and hobby's. Alexis never forgot the wiseman's words. He never messed with men or women because he believed the wiseman's words. There will be a destined one waiting for him out there. Alexis thought he would only want to share this part of himself with his destined one. He also never had been tempted by anyone else, which showed that the wiseman words held merit. Deep down Alexis knew his destined one would be a guy, because for some reason in his dreams he always saw a male figure around him, but only time would tell and until that time he would just wait and not settle for less then.

- Back to the training ground of the night hawks -

When Axel arrived at the training ground, he knew he would have to prove himself and he was quickly proven correct. Other squad members of the night hawks looked his way and raised their eyebrows, seemingly to question what he was doing here. He didn't pay them any mind; he knew the way he looked didn't work in his favor. After all it wasn't the first time, he received this kind of greeting since he joined the armed forces, and he knew that once he showed his skills his squad members would quickly welcome him. As soon as they learned he was worthy to protect their backs.

Alexis was determined to make his mark and quickly become part of this team. His goal was to eventually lead this team, to wherever their mission would take them. He would also lead this team, he hoped, through the perils of the changing world. If the words of the wiseman turned out to hold true. By that time his team wouldn't just be a team because he had quickly learned in the armed forces that giving your back to someone else required absolute trust. You could only give your back to a comrade in arms if you trusted them completely and when you gave someone that trust they would become your family. Even more important than family, because the only determining factor for someone to be family was that they held the same blood. The determining factor for a comrades in arms was that they would protect your lives, maybe at the cost of their own. So, if the world did change, by that time this squad would be his family and Alexis would protect them with his very own life. He was the kind of person who would do anything and everything for family as long as it didn't cross his bottom line and his actions would prove this to the other squad members. However, before he could prove his actions, he had to be deemed worthy enough to join their team.